On Aug 2, 202, I awoke at about 2:30AM and found myself in the oddest of places-a fountain! I was lying in the middle of it with my pajamas on! The water was about 6" deep.

I immediately got out and looked around. There's a park very close to my house with a fountain in the middle of it, and that's where I was.

This freaked me out! Was I sleep walking? I'd never done that before. Drugged, perhaps?

I walked back to my house. The door was closed, but unlocked. I put on dry clothes and went back to bed-but not to sleep!

In the morning, I called Lt Kirschenbaum; I needed someone to talk to, and he was a good choice. We met at my office.

"So, you woke up at 2:30 this monring and found yourself in the Bender Park fountain with you pajamas on?"

"Yep!"

He chuckled a bit. "I'm sorry, Jenny, I shouldn't be laughing at you!"

"It's OK, Carl! If this happened to anyone but me, I'd find it a bit funny, too!"

"OK, you've never sleepwalked before, right?"

"No, never."

"And you're not a drug user."

"I don't even drink, that much."

"Hmm. . . perhaps you were somehow hypnotized?"

"Maybe. . . I don't remember it. . . Hold on! A few days ago, I had a client who's a hypnotist! He wanted me to chuck on some missing money of his."

"How do you know he's a hypnotist? He told it to you?"

"Yes, he said he does it at nightclubs. His name is Jim. . . Dankins?" I checked my computer records. "Jim Dawkins. I was gonna get back with him, in a couple days.. You think he might of hypnotized me?"

"It's possible."

"But why?"

"Who knows. Perhaps it was just a sick desire to see you do it. OK, think a bit: When might he have done it?"

I thought. "Oh, yeah, I now remember! When he was in my office, I had a brief sleepy moment."

"'Sleepy moment?'"

"Like my eyes closed for a split second."

"Ah hah!"

"So, what now? Can we arrest him?"

He shook his head. "It's not as simple as that, I'm afraid. Wait, I've got an idea: I have a friend who's also a hypnotist. His name is Marv Goldberg, and his stage name is the Great Marvo. He can help uncover what happened to you. I'll arrange for you to meet him."

"Thanks, Carl!"

"Well, I've got to get back to my beat. Stop sleeping in fountains!"

I smiled. "I'll try!"

I was able to meet Marv that very evening. Carl took me to his apartment. We We introduced ourselves and sat down.

"Before we begin, there's something I'd like to tell you," said Marv. "It is absolutely impossible for someone to hypnotize someone else and coerce them to do something they would never normally do. For example, I couldn't hypnotize you and tell you to kill someone. The most I could get you to do would be something crazy you normally wouldn't do."

"Like lie in a fountain!"

He smiled. "Exactly."

"That makes me feel a little better, thank you."

"Good. You say it was a man named Jim Dawkins that did it?"

"I suspect. Do you know him?"

"Yes. He used to have a hypnosis act in Atlantic City. But he left under mysterious circumstances. I don't know much about it, unfortunately.

"OK, make yourself comfortable."

I took my shoes off, which surprised him, a bit.

"That's how I like to get comfortable!"

He smiled. "That's fine!"

And then, he hypnotized me.

(I don't actually remember a lot of this, but Marv and Carl gave me the details, later.)

"I am your guide. I am here to help you. But you must also help me. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. Do you remember John Dawkins?"

"Yes."

"You dozed off for a few seconds, in his presence. Remember this?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now, go deep into your mind and remember: What happened, during this period? Do you remember?"

". . . I can't!"

"Yes, you can. Remember, I am here to help you. Can you remember, now?"

". . . Yes, I can. He talked with me. He told me that on the night of August 2 at 1:30AM, I would get out of bed, walk to the Bender Park fountain, and lie in the water."

"Good. And how would you know what time to do it?"

"I would set my alarm, before going to sleep." (I later discovered that I did indeed set my alarm for 1:30AM!)

"Excellent! Now, did he tell you anything else?"

"Yes. On August 3, I am to take my shirt and bra off at 2:00PM."

"I see. Anything else?"

"No, that was all."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. He woke me up, soon after that."

"Good. OK now, I will soon count to three. After I have done this, you will wake up. And when you do, you will remember everything. Furthermore, you will not have the urge to do what John Dawkins told you to do. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. 1. . . 2. . . 3!"

I woke up. And like he said, I now remember everything.

It was later revealed that Mr Dawkins filmed me on his cell phone-and posted it online! I had a look at it. It showed me walking into the park, getting into the fountain, and lying down in the water.

It later came out that he was a sexual predator. He went back to jail on parole violations.

The next day, Lt Kirschenbaum visited me at 1:45.

"Hi, Carl. What brings you here?"

"Hi, Jenny. You know, it's close to the time of Mr Dawkins' other command.

"Oh, that's right! And you wanted to watch it, didn't you?"

"No! I just wanted to make sure Marv was able to break the spell."

I smiled. "That was sweet of you! Take a seat."

"Thanks."

He sat. We talked for a bit. Soon, it was 1:55. . . :56. . . :57. . . :58. . . :59. . . 2:00.

I took my shirt off.

"Jenny!"

"I FOOLED YOU!"

We both laughed!

"How about having lunch with me?"

"That sounds nice. Chinese?"

"Sure."

I put my shirt back on.

"You can stay barefooted, if you'd like."

"I intend to!"

We had a nice lunch together.